Wizards in the riots
by Soapicus
Summary: one shot


Hannah reached for Neville's hand.

"You know I'll support you in whatever you decide to do, don't you?" Neville smiled at her

"Thank you." He replied. She returned his tender expression with a bemused grin, he should always know how deep her love for him was. They sat there in silence enjoying the comfort they received from each other.

"Do you think we should move to Hogsmead?" asked Hannah "I could use the Floo Network to St Mungos every day for work." She said thoughtfully looking at the pubs charred and gnarled ceiling. She wondered whether the burn marks were from previous pub brawls as Neville answered her,

"I think we're getting a little ahead of ourselves, I haven't put an application in yet."

"I just know you'd get it though, Professor Sprout would put in a good word for you." Hannah said encouragingly

"You know I can't imagine Hogwarts without Professor Sprout." Neville said before taking a swig of butterbeer.

"There were a lot of things I couldn't imagine Hogwarts without." Neville's eyes suddenly looked troubled and she wished she hadn't alluded to the dark and troubled year, their last year of Hogwarts, when everything had seemed changed forever. The only light that year had been their blossoming friendship and romance. When Hannah had been found smuggling murtlap tentacles from the potions store cupboard so that she could help Madame Pomphrey deal with students hurt by the ruthless new teachers, it had been Neville who had created a distraction, putting himself in great danger, to allow her escape. Hannah quickly tried to change the subject: this was meant to be their romantic weekend in London together; it didn't need to be dampened by the thought of events almost ten years past.

"Won't you miss your friends in the Auror office?" Hannah asked. Neville put down his butterbeer and looked into its bubbly dandelion depths, as if it were a pensieve.

"Yeah, It will be hard but just imagine being back at Hogwarts... and the Green Houses!" with this Neville's face broke into a beam and he looked away dreamily. Hannah smiled to see him so happy. Their own Greenhouse was already over flowing. Hannah never got angry when Neville rehomed another unloved plant, she knew how much it meant to him, and instead she laughed at how hopeless he was. Plants were like puppies to him no matter how ugly or dangerous.

"Do you think – " Hannah began but was stopped when the heavy bar table shook beneath their hands. Butterbeer from Hannah's goblet slopped onto the ravaged wood. Hannah and Neville looked around. The rest of the Leaky Cauldron's customers were also looking around in confusion.

They heard a wiz like a Fillibuster Firework and some Bangs. Suddenly the fire in the large Leaky Cauldron Grate sprang up bright emerald green. Next second a figure had come spinning out of the flames and jumped onto the wooden pub floor. Even before he straightened up his bright red hair had denoted him as Ron Weasley

"Ron?" Neville asked coming over to him "What's going on. You on duty tonight?"

"No I bloody well wasn't." Ron said through gritted teeth "Called in for an emergency." Ron pulled Neville away from the fire as another figure Neville recognised as a fellow Auror jumped out of the fire. "I'm glad the Leaky Cauldrons not been hit, we'd wondered if maybe we'd have to fight our way out."

"What are you talking about?" Hannah asked coming up behind Neville

"Oh hello Hannah. Course!" said Ron hitting himself in the forehead "It's your holiday! Sorry Neville –"

"Look, what's going on?" Neville asked again

"Muggle riots."

"Are you going to go help?"

"If only we could. Harry's been petitioning the Minister since it started to let us help, but the Muggle Relations Office won't budge. They're worried about Wizard casualties and breaking the Official Secrecy Act. They've got our number now so if any of us help we're for it."

"Why are you in the Leaky Cauldron then?" Hannah asked confused just as another Bang shook the pub and made the magical lanterns flicker.

"It's incited some of wizards to go on a bit of a rampage down Knockturn and Diagon Alley. We've got to put a stop to it." Ron said. With a curt nod he turned to the ten wizards who'd followed him out of the fire. "Come on lets go. You all know the drill. Wands out? C'mon!"

Neville frowned, Hannah looked at him worriedly. It looked like he was planning on doing something rash.

"We should help." Neville said earnestly

"Ron's got enough people, you're on holiday, you don't need to!" Hannah half begged him, holding onto fistfuls of his robe sleeves.

"Not with the Wizard riots, they can deal with that. With the Muggles."

"But – " Hannah began

"The Muggle Relations Office hasn't told me I can't help." Neville smiled at her, a little bit of a cheeky grin. Neville turned and went to the pub door which lead onto the muggle streets. Hannah, grumbling under her breath followed him. She wasn't letting him walk into a riot on his own, even if he did have magic on his side.

As Neville opened the pub door they could smell smoke in the air. Already the record shop next door had a window spider-webbed with cracks and there was glass all over the street. Neville stepped gingerly into the street and held out his hand for Hannah to follow him. She could hear the glass tinkling as the train of her robes pulled the shards along the street.

The roads were all empty, despite the normal busyness of the capital. Hannah felt her heart thump rapidly in her chest, she squeezed Neville's hand and he squeezed back. She felt a great deal of comfort having Neville beside her.

As they turned into the next street they heard jeering and laughing. There was a man sat backed up against the wall of a building and he was bleeding heavily from his nose. A small pool of blood was spreading beneath him. Hannah wanted to rush to help him, with her St Mungos training she could deal with that in an instant. But she couldn't, for surrounding the hurt man were three others hooded and swinging baseball bats were advancing ominously upon the man, laughing.

Neville pulled out his wand from his robe pocket and advanced towards the men. But then, from out of the shadows, a purple robed figure sprang out, clapped their hands around Neville's head. Neville was just about to turn his wand on the assailant when he heard a simple "Ssssshhh" from beneath the purple robes and he allowed himself to be dragged into the shadows. Hannah ran after him.

"What were you playing at?" a female voice emanated out of the purple robes. A slender hand pushed back the hood of the robes and Hannah and Neville realised they recognised who it was.

"Padma? What are you doing here?" Hannah whispered, aware of the presence of the nearby thugs.

"Keeping you out of trouble. What did you think you were going to do just then?" All three of the wizards heard a resounding thunk and they all winced and tried not to imagine what would have made that noise.

"We have to help that man!" Neville said urgently

"What about the Secrecy act?" asked Padma

"We could modify their memories."

"And send them out into rioting London? Are you mad, after a memory modification they'll be so befuddled they'll walk into a burning building." Padma hissed at Neville.

There was another thunk.

"They're going to kill that man!" Neville hissed equally as fervently.

Padma looked up unseeing. Her face contorted as if thinking through an Arithmancy problem. She frowned.

"Alright." She snapped "Come on!"

The Ravenclaw, the Hufflepuff and the Gryffindor walked down the tarmac of the Muggle road, Glass crunching under their feet. They raised their wands in unison.

"Oi idiots!" Padma called. The Thugs turned around.

"STUPIFY!" all three wizards yelled.

* * *

><p><em>I wasn't sure about publishing this, I just want to say that I don't want to appear unsympathetic or calous about the riots and their long term affects on those directly harmed or indirectly. I hope this story demonstrates that I was appauled by the actions of the rioters. <em>

_Thanks to my unofficial beta cowsfly for needling me into publishing this. Oh and her amendments. _


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